Maintaining Antique Furniture

 

QUESTION: I recently inherited a number of pieces of antique furniture from my grandmother. They range from just under 100 years old to around 200. She loved nice things and was always on the lookout for interesting pieces. Unfortunately, as she got older, she was unable to care for them as well as she had in the past. I’m new to antiques and have no idea what to do to care for these pieces. Can you help me?

ANSWER: You’re very lucky that she thought that much of you to leave you her prized pieces. Over time, antique furniture accumulates dirt and grime. Even if she dusted it often, doing so grinds the dirt in, believe it or not. So the first thing you need to do is clean your pieces.

Cleaning is a simple process but you must be careful not to hurt the finishes. One of the best products to use to clean antique furniture is Murphy’s Oil Soap which comes in a concentrated liquid and also in a spray bottle. The best material to use for cleaning is an old washcloth with a bit of nap left on it. If you’re using the concentrate, mix with water following the directions on the bottle. Dip the washcloth in the mixture and get it nice and soaked, then wring it out as much as you can. If you’re using the spray, apply some onto a wet, wrung out washcloth. Clean a small section of a piece at a time, drying immediately with an old towel. You’ll have to rinse the washcloth often as it will pick up a lot of dirt. When you’ve washed the entire piece, let it dry for at least 24 hours. You’ll notice that your pieces are beginning to look a lot better already.

But cleaning is only the beginning. After a piece is thoroughly dry, you’ll need to apply a protective coating. 

The most common finishes found on antique furniture are waxes, oils, shellacs, and varnishes. Not only do these finishes bring out the beauty of the wood's grain and color, but they also protect the wood from moisture and heat changes that can cause shrinking, swelling, crazing, and cracking. Finishes seal the wood pores against dirt and grime, too.

But in order for a finish to protect the wood, the finish itself must be protected. This can be done by polishing the finish with either a wax or an oil.

You can find waxes in liquid, aerosol spray, and paste forms in hardware and home supply stores. Look for products that contain carnauba wax, a natural substance from a palm tree native to Brazil, that’s especially durable and produces a glossy shine when rubbed vigorously. Minwax is one of the best on the market. 

Another reliable and popular polish is beeswax, which has been available for many years. You’ll find a variety of paste and liquid polishes containing beeswax in hardware and home supply stores. 

Apply either type of wax with an old athletic sock. Rub it in thoroughly and wait at least 30 minutes before buffing it with #0000 steel wool. Don’t worry, this grade is as soft as fabric. Wait 24 hours and apply a second coat. But this time, buff it with an old towel.

Oils such as tung, linseed, and lemon oil have been used for centuries to preserve and polish furniture finishes. They're often mixed with absorption promoters, so they actually sink into the wood pores rather than remaining on top as waxes do. Oils leave a lustrous shine that’s softer than a glossy wax shine, and they provide good protection against moisture. However, they tend to darken the wood slightly over time. And as with applying wax, use a piece of old athletic sock to apply the oil. Since you'll need to give your furniture a second coat of oil in most cases, place the cloth you used in a plastic bag and then in the freezer. When you're ready to apply an additional coat, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to begin so that it can thaw.

Regardless of whether you choose to use a wax or oil, always use the same type that has been used previously on a piece of furniture. Finish surfaces that are accustomed to one type of polish won't accept another type. For example, an oil applied to a finish that had been previously waxed will remain on the wood surface and won't soak in.

If you don't know what type of polisher has been used on a piece—apply a small amount of an wax or oil to an inconspicuous spot on the piece. The wood should accept one of them and that is the one you should use.

How often you need to clean and polish your antique furniture will depend on the kind of heating and cooling system in your home, its geographical location, how you use your antique pieces, and the type of cleaner/polisher you're using.

Avoid using spray oils or dusting helpers like Pledge on your antique furniture. The oil in them will only build up on the piece, attracting more dust and grime. Generally, you’ll need to reapply a wax or oil every six months or at least once a year. A light dusting in between applications will keep your pieces looking good.

Besides regular dusting and waxing or oiling, you also need to provide the proper environment, paying close attention to heat, humidity, and light. 

It’s important not to keep your rooms too warm. Extreme fluctuations can harm antique furniture, loosening joints and veneers. During the colder months, depending on your geographical location, keep pieces away from radiators, warm air vents, and fireplaces. Too much heat can rob the wood of vital moisture.

Keeping a relative humidity level at around 55 percent at 65 degrees F. is also important. Purchase one or more inexpensive digital barometers and place them in rooms with your antique furniture. 

Lastly, avoid placing antique furniture, especially older more valuable pieces in direct sunlight or artificial light, especially with today’s LED lightbulbs. Over-exposure to either is harmful.  

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "folk art" in the 2023 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

A Juicy Solution

QUESTION: I was visiting my grandmother the other day and noticed that when she needed some lemon juice for a dish she was preparing, she pulled out a funny looking contraption, placed half a lemon on it, and pushed down on the lemon while turning it slowly. The juice from the lemon flowed into a grove at the bottom. She then poured the juice into her pan and continued cooking. What is this device called and did everyone use them back in the day?

ANSWER: Younger Americans think lemon juice comes from those cute plastic lemons---or from fancy and expensive electric stainless steel appliances that sit on their kitchen counter. Many have never had to squeeze juice by hand, but it wasn't so very long ago when that's exactly what everyone had to do in order to have the lemon juice for a dish or a refreshing glass of OJ. But instead of an electric appliance, people used a reamer.

The French made the earliest reamer, registered in 1767, of nickel silver and porcelain. First produced in Europe, reamers later appeared in the U.S. European reamers were  some of the finest ever created, including those produced by the finest china companies, such as Limoges, Royal Bayreuth, R.S. Prussia, and Meissen.

Though Charles L. Tiffany offered a reamer at his Tiffany and Company store in New York in the early 1880s, the first juice extractor patented in the U.S. was on May 30,1865. This was actually a wooden juice press.

The hand-held lemon squeezer created by George Cornford patented the first hand-held, clear glass lemon squeezer on August 19,1884, and it resembled a darning egg. 

Before the turn of the 20th century, more inventors patented designs for their own juice squeezers. R.E. Bristow of Rockford, IIlinios, registered "The Ideal" on January 31, 1888. John Easley of Manhattan registered a hand-cranked reamer on July 10, 1888, which was the first of his many patents until 1900. In fact, reamer designers of the early to mid 1880s created intricate mechanical designs culminating in the creation of a model that first cut the fruit in half and then extracted the juice.

But these were too sophisticated for the average user. By the late 1880s and early 1890s, designs reverted back to single-piece glass reamers. The registered patent designs of Thomas Curley, whose design was called, what else, the "Curley." Easley came out with a three-piece model, and the Holmes Company gave the world the “Holmes,” which was made of glass. Still the design that finally remained for years to come was Arthur Bennet’s “Lemon Squeezer,” patented on February 16, 1909.

This one brings to mind the classic juice reamer. Made of one piece of glass, the "Lemon Squeezer" had a pointed, grooved center for twisting the fruit on to remove its juice. The juice ran into the shallow dish below the reamer part. The "Lemon Squeezer" also had a handle to 'hold for pouring and a spout.

The first reamers or juicers were for extracting lemon juice for cooking or for flavoring, not necessarily for juicing oranges for making orange juice. Though oranges are available year round now, in 1900 they were exotic and expensive.

But that changed in 1907 when Sunkist, established as the trademark for the California Fruit Grower's oranges, appeared on the market. By 1916, Sunkist began offering glass reamers as a way to promote their oranges. But orange juicers and lemon juicers weren’t the same. Lemon juicers didn’t need a "bowl" or area on the juicer to hold a large amount of juice, but the orange reamers did, which brought about a major change in the style of reamers.

Sunkist was the leader in design changes. Besides offering reamers with "juice receptacles," many of the Sunkist reamers also had embossed lettering, spelling out "Sunkist Oranges and Lemons" or "Sunkist-California Fruit Grower's Exchange.” Sunkist vigorously promoted them through department and variety stores, grocery outlets and by mail-order. Sunkist continued to offer reamers, many made by the McKee Glass Company, until 1961.

By the 1920s and 1930s, reamers became more colorful with the introduction of Depression Glass. In 1922, the Fly Glass Company introduced Pearl Glass, and by 1925 reamers could be purchased in a variety of colors, from Vaseline glass to amber, pink, and emerald green glass. The Great Depression produced more glass reamers  than ever before or after.

There were other produced in the 1930s, including the 'Servitor," the "Handy Andy," and the "Jiffy Juicer."  Though china reamers had been produced in Europe years before, it wasn’t until 1927 when Goebel registered their German ceramics and chinaware in the U.S. Though Goebel didn't begin making ceramic juicers in the U.S. until the late 1920s, ceramic reamers had been produced in America from 1910 and continued through 1938. In fact, by the end of the 1930s, the production of colored glass reamers had declined. 

The end of the reamer era occurred in 1939 as frozen orange juice hit grocer’s freezers.  Today, glass and ceramic reamers are the most popular with collectors.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "folk art" in the 2023 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

 

The Artful Draw of Citrus Labels

 

QUESTION: While browsing at my local thrift shop the other day, I came across three framed citrus prints, the kind that used to be pasted on citrus shipping crates. I scooped them right up. They’ve made a nice addition to my kitchen. I hadn’t thought much about these labels before I saw these framed ones. Are they collectible? If so, are they worth collecting? I sure would love to add to the three I purchased. 

ANSWER: Citrus labels, once quite common, have long since disappeared. Both California and Florida growers used these labels to identify their products from the 1880s to the 1950s. Pasted on the ends of these wooden crates, these 10” X 11” labels or 5 ½” X 11” strips identified the brand. And today, they’ve become a hot and affordable collectible.

Christopher Columbus first introduced citrus seeds to what’s now Florida in 1493. Ponce de Leon sailed with Columbus and was the first European to explore Florida in 1513, bringing with him citrus seeds and planting them near the settlement of St. Augustine. Spaniards and native Indians continued to grow and cultivate the fruit, as citrus thrived in Florida’s warm climate and sandy soil.

But it took another 300 years before citrus became an industry. By then, newly arriving homesteaders began relocating to Florida, planting citrus trees around their homesteads. Pioneer began selling the fruit, then bringing it to a common location to be transported by steamships. Steamers collected barrels of fruit packed in Spanish moss at various ports along Florida’s coasts and waterways.

It was the coming of the railroads that encouraged the creation of those colorful, imaginative labels. Oranges had been grown for a long time in Florida and even longer in California, but it wasn't until the completion of railroad spur lines that it became possible to ship the perishable citrus fruit nationwide. By 1875, growers began using 90-pound wooden crates. Eager to capture the attention of wholesale buyers in Eastern and Midwestern produce terminals, the growers began pasting eye-catching paper labels to the ends of the crates.

California growers were the first to use color lithography to print their packing labels. And it was from them that the Florida growers began to see how the colorful labels could be used to successfully market their produce. From 1904 until the 1940s, the growers designed citrus labels to differentiate among the competition for a particular grower or shipper. Artists and lithographers collaborated to help buyers remember and identify their brand. 

The old-time produce market was a crowded place, so having labels with eye-appealing, interesting artwork was a must. It's the same rich colors and striking designs that used to grab the attention of the citrus buyers which attract today’s collectors.

Label colors sometimes served another purpose. Each packing house used several different labels, and at some citrus groves the label background colors used were of special significance. Buyers could tell at a glance the grade of the fruit. Blue indicated top quality fruit, red indicated second grade fruit, and yellow or gold indicated  third-grade fruit.

Label art changed with the times. Fruit crate art can be divided into three periods—Naturalism, from 1885 to 1920, Advertising, from 1920 to 1935, and Commercial Art, from 1935 to 1955. In Florida, early labels seemed designed to appeal especially to housewives, with pastel-tinted illustrations depicting flowers or babies. Following these came label illustrations showing Indians, planes, trains, hunting scenes, and pretty women, all directed towards the all-male buyers at Northern auctions.

Many early labels during the Naturalism era were known as "vanity labels" because they depicted the growers themselves, their families, or their orange groves.

In 1915, the general public became aware of vitamins and the health benefits of the orange's Vitamin C content appeared in label art. Labels from the Advertising era promoted the use of orange juice for health, with names like "Juicy-o," "Juice King," and "Full o' Juice.”

Through label design, artists depicted a wide range of subjects, including the romance of Florida with sunsets, sailboats, and “good, healthy living” themes. Scenic views of Florida with orange groves, orange trees, treasure chests filled with oranges furthered the image of the fruit. The Golden Sunset brand portrayed palm trees and a warm, glowing sunset. Consumers and buyers were getting the message about the good life in Florida which also gave a boost to tourism.

Label artists also pictured Florida flowers. The Gardenia Brand and the Azalea Brand adorned Jacksonville’s W.H. Clark Fruit label. The Kissimmee Citrus Grower’s Association used the Florida Cowboy brand.

Themes of wildlife were also popular with birds, alligators, and even fish. Brooksville’s Blue Heron Brand portrayed the majestic Florida bird and Frostproof’s Ibis Brand displayed the pink-billed white bird. St. Petersburg’s Milne-O’Berry Packing Company developed a label with the classic tarpon called the Silver King Brand.

Citrus labels even promoted Indian River’s Harvey’s Groves, depicting a fertile and luscious growing region. The Polk O Dot Brand created a label with a golden-haired child from the Polk County Citrus Exchange.

It was in the 1940's that the packing houses in both Florida and California ended the 60-odd year tradition of marking their products with colorful labels on the ends of wooden crates. With the advent of World War II, wood used to build crates became both scarce and expensive

By the time the 1950's rolled around, most growers and packers tossed away or burned their unused labels. Who would have dreamed that those old scraps of paper would someday be collectors' items?

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about railroad antiques in "All Aboard!" in the 2021 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.